Ayscoughfee Hall Museum and Gardens

Over het museum

Ayscoughfee Hall is a Grade I listed house in Spalding dating from around 1450, when it was probably built as the home of a wool merchant. Tree-ring dating of the roof timbers supports a date in the 1450s. Over the centuries successive owners altered its outside and its rooms, which is why the building shows a medieval undercroft and tower, a rare medieval staircase, Georgian plasterwork in the entrance hall and a Victorian gothic front.

For generations the hall was the home of the Johnson family. Maurice Johnson, who lived from 1688 to 1755, founded the Spalding Gentlemen's Society in the house and supported it for forty years. After passing through several private owners the hall was bought by the people of Spalding in the early twentieth century and served in turn as a library, a school and council offices before becoming the district museum.

The museum closed in 2003 for a major renovation, supported by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant, and reopened in June 2006. It was named Lincolnshire Museum of the Year in 2007, and the building was raised to Grade I listing in 2012. Today South Holland District Council runs the museum, which tells the story of Spalding and the Lincolnshire Fens, with rooms furnished in medieval, Georgian and Victorian styles, a Victorian kitchen and a landscape gallery. The five and a half acres of gardens include an ornamental pond, an old yew walk, an eighteenth century ice house and a war memorial.

Hoogtepunten

• Medieval hall of around 1450 with undercroft, tower and a rare medieval staircase
• Rooms furnished in medieval, Georgian and Victorian styles and a Victorian kitchen
• Displays on the Spalding Gentlemen's Society and local figures such as John Grundy and Matthew Flinders
• Landscape gallery on life in the Lincolnshire Fens with a wildfowling boat and punt guns
• Five and a half acres of gardens with a pond, yew walk, ice house and play area

Vaste collectie

• Spalding and the Lincolnshire Fens – Displays on the history of the hall, the Spalding Gentlemen's Society, local people, drainage and fenland life, with period rooms and a landscape gallery.

Beheerder

South Holland District Council

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

De toegang is gratis.

Entry to the museum and gardens is free.

Toegankelijkheid

• Deels rolstoeltoegankelijk
• Lift
• Aangepast toilet
• Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats
• Hulphonden welkom
• Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten: geen informatie
• Rondleidingen in gebarentaal: geen informatie
• Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
• Audiodescriptie: geen informatie

Because the hall is Grade I listed, a few rooms cannot be reached by wheelchair, including the Early History room, the Medieval History room and the Medieval Hall in the tower, which is reached by the main stairs only. A lift serves the first floor and most galleries have seating, though the first floor has none and a seat can be requested at reception. There is an accessible toilet, and the gardens have a Changing Places toilet and an accessible toilet in the pavilion next to the cafe that need a RADAR key. Three disabled parking bays are on Chestnut Avenue beside the museum. Assistance animals are welcome, and an access guide describes each room.

Kinderen & gezin

Erg geschikt voor kinderen & gezinnen

• Gezinsrondleidingen & workshops
• Speurtocht, doeboekje of kinderaudiotour
• Doe- en voelstations
• Speeltuin / speelhoek

Staff provide a free children's quiz, some displays are interactive, and the gardens have a children's play area. Children's art workshops and family events take place during the year.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

The garden entrance is on Chestnut Avenue, next to the Vista car park.

Service & horeca

• Café
• Museumwinkel

A cafe run as a separate business stands in the gardens, and the entrance hall has a small shop and reception desk.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

• Ruimtes te huur
• Privéfeesten
• Bruiloften / trouwceremonies

The hall can be hired privately and is licensed for civil ceremonies. Catering is not provided, so hirers may use their own caterer.

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